Combined thill-support and antirattler



No Model.)

J, P. DYE. COMBINED THILL SUPPORT AND ANTIRATTLBR. No. 553,057. PatentedJan. 14, 1896.

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' UNITED STATES,

PATENT @rricn,

JOHN FRANK DYE, or nnwronr, KENTUCKY.

COMBINED THlLL-SUPPO RT AND ANTIRATTLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,057, dated January14, 1896.

Application filed November 10, 1894. Serial No. 528,394. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FRANK DYE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newport, in the county of Campbell and State of Kentucky,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Antirattlers andThill-Sup ports; and I do hereby declare the followin to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to a combined antirattler and chill-support, butmore particularly to those employed in carriages and other vehicles.

In devices of this character it has been the practice to provide a rigidextension on the yoke of the coupling-clip, the end of which is engagedby the end of a spring which is socured to the thill-iron to support thesame in an elevated position when not in use, and to be engaged by thebody of the spring when it serves as an antirattler, or it has beensuggested to secure a bracket or foot-piece to the thill-iron on the endof which is a cam-surface or nose adapted to have the end of a U shapedspring, arranged between the clip and the thill-iron, abut against thesame. It has also been proposed to provide a strip on the thillironwhich engages a curved spring secured to the axle, or to provide aspring which is carried by the thill and which rests upon the curved endof an extension of the yoke. These, like other devices heretoforeemployed, do not properly serve as antirattlers, for the reason that thespring acts in a line approximately with that of the pull of the horse,while the jolting is ordinarily in a line transversely of the pull; norhas provision, in such cases, been made to compensate for the wear ofthe spring other than the tension of the same.

The primary object of my invention is to overcome these objectionablefeatures by pr0- viding a simple, eifective and durable device whichwill exert a pressure on the thill-coupling transversely to the line ofdraft, and to support the thills after they have been elevated.

A further object is to so construct the parts that the wear of thesamewill be compensated for by their coaction.

lVith these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and combination-of the parts, as will be hereinafterdescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the en dof the description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification, Figure l is a sectional view through the axle,illustrating in elevation the thill-coupling with the invention appliedthereto in position to act as an antirattler. Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. 1, eXcept that the invention is in position to support theshafts in an elevated position; and Fig. 3 illustrates a slightlymodified form.

In the drawings, A may designate the axle; B, the axle-bed; G, the clip;D, the shackle or coupling E, the coupling-bolt; F, the thilliron; G,the thill, and H the yoke, all of which may be of the well-known or ofany preferred form. I

The yoke II has a spring h extending outwardly therefrom, which isrigidly secured to or formed integrally with said yoke. This spring iscurved and may be approximately semicircular and arranged below thethillcoupling concentric with the coupling-bolt, or it may be arrangedeccentrically therewith, if so desired, the curved portion of the springserving as a bearing-surface for the curved portion 1' of the spring I.The spring I is secured to the thill-iron in any suitable manner, butpreferably by the same bolt 7; which secures the thill-iron to thethill, and is prevented from lateral movement on said iron by having itsends i turned slightly upward to embrace the sides of the thill-iron, orthe end may rest in a recess in said iron, as is found most desirable.The end i of the spring I is curved slightly opposite to the curvedportion iso as to permit the spring to slide on the spring h and to abutagainst and rest upon the slightly inturned end 72. of the spring h toserve to retain the thills in an elevated position, as shown in Fig. 2.

It will be seen by the construction shown that when the vehicle is inuse the tendency of the springs is to exert a pressure in the directionof the dotted line J and transversely to the pull of the horse, itmaking little or no difference whether the pressure be upward on thisline or downward, the same varying according to the arrangement of thesprings and the difference in strength of said springs. The

two springs will each compensate for the wear of the other, and yet willform a rigid support.

in retaining the thills elevated when they have been raised.

I may alter the exact construction of the parts, if so desired, or linayalter the arrangement of the springs, as shown in Fig. 3. Here the endof the spring I is arranged to contact with the inner surface of thespring h instead of the outer surface thereof, the end of the spring inthis case resting against the outwardly-curved end it of the spring whenthe thills are elevated, thereby serving as a ready support therefor.Such changesbeing within the scope of my invention, I do not wish toconfine myself to the exact construction shown, as the same may bevaried in some instances without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. An anti-rattlin g device for thill' couplings comprisinga pair ofsprings, one adapted to the other to be rigidly secured at one endthereof to the thill of the vehicle, each having a spring portionprojecting from the axle and thill, respectively; said projecting springportions being curved and arranged to overlap each other so as to slideone upon the other and be held in reciprocally yielding contact,substantially as described.

2. An anti-rattler and thill support comprising a pair of springs, oneof which is adapted to be rigidly secured to the axle and the other tothe thill of the vehicle, each having an approximately semi circularspring portion; said spring portions being arranged to overlap eachother and provide an extended hearing surface and to slide one upon theother in reciprocally yielding contact,whereby a strain may be exertedin an'approxiinately vertical plane to prevent rattling of the partswhen the thills are in use, and to support said thills in a raisedposition when not in use, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my sign atnre in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN FRANK DYE. \Vitnesses J. A. E. CRIsWELL, CHARLES RIORDON.

